


The Super Amazing, Awesome, and Cool

by SalmonSteak



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Breaking and Entering, Crime Fighting, Crimes & Criminals, Fluff, Found Family, Light Angst, No beta we go out like L'manburg, Sleepy Bois Inc-centric, Twins Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Vigilante TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), dadboyhalo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29946687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalmonSteak/pseuds/SalmonSteak
Summary: Tommy is a vigilante. A job not well respected among heroes and politicians and even the common civilian. But he loves what he does, even if it means his childhood heroes are after him. He may even get to see them up close every once in a while.Phil is a hero. A job he takes seriously. As an ancient being, he's been a hero for many years, and is no longer as enthusiastic as when he started. He tried, once, to retire. He started a small family as well. But a unfortunately hero's work is never over. Not really.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Floris | Fundy & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 57
Kudos: 844





	1. The Shack

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [TommyInnit's unbeatable method of avoiding sudden death](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29230860) by [eneli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eneli/pseuds/eneli). 



He wasn’t _bad._ Not at all. A little hard to handle and maybe restless, but not _bad._ He had a big heart and a big sense of justice. He was sensitive and empathetic- almost to a fault- kind and gentle when he needed to be. Not that he’d ever admit it seriously, but he was. It’s what pushed him to do what he did.

He loved what he did. It was fun most days. More than that it was the right thing to do. See? He wasn’t _bad._ A bad person wouldn’t do what he did. They wouldn’t care as much as he did. 

What he _was_ was a teenager, and what came with that was some carelessness, immaturity, impulsivity, and recklessness. He didn’t mean to do bad things. And they weren’t always bad, like stealing from bigger corporations or fighting people who were much much less than friendly.

Sometimes they were just- how should he put it, what were the words- not all too good. He wouldn’t describe them as bad, even if other people would. 

They shouldn’t have though. He didn’t expect everyone to understand but he was doing them services. The police of the town were shit, and the heroes followed them blindly, even if they were great. He envied their powers, but would never take that title for himself even if he did have powers. 

If you were found to have powers you worked closely with the police. Too closely to the government. He didn’t like it. It was up to people like him to _actually_ make everything right and equal, not just uphold the law, which was most of the time wrong anyways. At least, that’s what he believed. 

Not everyone appreciated that. More people than ever before had adapted Tommy’s way of thinking nowadays, but vigilante work would still be prosecuted even if people trusted you or supported you. That’s the kind of bullshit he was trying to get rid of. That’s what the work was all about. 

Ok, that’s what the work was supposed to be all about, but he really just liked kicking ass and helping people. Leave the big picture to the professionals. He understood it. He supported it, obviously, and he was fully up to spread the message, but what was he, a sixteen year old, supposed to accomplish? 

Even if he wasn’t as hardcore into his work as some other names out there, he was still treated like the worst of the worst. People after him. Police, civilians, even heroes. It was kind of thrilling, if he was honest. A bit dangerous. He knew of the danger. He loved it.

His friend, not so much, considering that they lived together and it could fall back on him at any given time. He was used to it, of course, but that didn’t mean he condoned it.

It didn’t matter all too much. What he would end up telling Tubbo when he got home was almost always the same anyway, and the aftermath wasn’t too different either. 

He smiled and rubbed his hands together. “Aha, so, I’m sure you heard about the break in down the road?”

Tubbo somehow managed to scoff and sigh at the same time, opening the door to the small shack a little more. “You made it worse?”

Before Tommy could answer, someone let out a startling yelp, and something small exploded. While he flinched, Tubbo just looked back to him with a dead expression. “I was trying to help.” The two stood in silence for a bit while in the distance there was the sound of a car pulling out of a driveway and then immediately running straight into a building. “To be totally fair, I did stop them from robbing the place, so I believe I deserve some credit.” 

He had a black eye and the left sleeve of his sweater had a huge cut just under the shoulder. Tubbo was less concerned about the injuries, as Tommy had come home with worse before, and more concerned about the clothing. “Why didn’t you take off your sweater?”

“Uh…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it’s a long story, and I’ll tell you-” he put his hands up in his defense, “-but no one followed me.” 

Not even a second of silence passed before a shot whizzed past Tommy’s head. On instinct, he looked behind him to see one of the men he saw earlier hold a small gun. When their eyes met, the man lowered his gun, seeming confused. Though it was hard to tell behind the simplistic mask he wore. “Wait, you’re a child?” 

Tommy let out a nervous chuckle. “Oh, _come on,”_ yelled Tubbo in exasperation. As he did, a window on the side of the shack was shattered. Their heads turned to the noise just in time for them to see someone else crawl through it. Tubbo reacted quickly, taking a baseball bat that sat next to the door and rushing towards him. Tommy took an umbrella from the rack next to the doorway that instantly fell once the umbrella was lifted from it and pointed it at the man triumphantly. 

The man just scoffed and held his gun back up. “What are you planning to do with that?” 

He grinned and opened it up. “Shield!” 

A few seconds of silence passed before the man laughed loudly. _“What?”_ He continued laughing for a second or two, just enough to let Tommy roll his eyes behind his cover. Once he stopped he let out a small sigh. “That’s cute,” he said as he raised his hand once more and then shot. 

It bounced off the surface of the umbrella. He drew back in surprise, looking at the gun as if something was wrong with it, and coming to the conclusion that he simply shot in the wrong area. He shot again, right where Tommy’s head was thought to be. Again, the bullet bounced. In frustration, he shot three more times. The third time, Tommy tossed the umbrella full force towards the man. The top of it extended into him as the base collided into his shoulder. He fell to the ground, exclaiming in pain as he did. 

“Dream!” someone shouted behind Tommy, then there was a sharp crack. 

"Get out of my house!” Tubbo yelled as the bat collided with his shoulder, sending him stumbling into the wall. 

Tommy turned around just in time to see someone else come behind Tubbo and grab under both of his arms, successfully pulling him back and off his feet. In surprise, Tubbo let go of his bat, and it fell to the ground just beside a fireplace that Tubbo and Tommy kept books and newspapers in. He started kicking frantically, but the stranger was taller than him by a few inches at the most, and obviously much stronger than him, lifting him only a few inches off the ground. 

Before the other regained his footing, Tommy sprinted into the room with his eyes dead set on Tubbo, still struggling, and was immediately pulled by the man dressed in what looked to be a blue sweater vest with a button up shirt under it and...goggles? Tommy was getting his ass beat by someone in goggles. _Ok._

Tubbo finally managed to kick the one holding him back in the knee just hard enough to make him lose his balance, giving him enough time to elbow him in the face. He swiftly kicked the bat into Tommy’s direction, and Tommy picked it up with his eyes on the man who had so rudely pulled the back of his sweater. “Thanks!” he called Tubbo. 

“Shut the fuck up,” Tubbo replied as he continued to struggle getting his opponent against the wall. 

Tommy cringed, looking to the man in front of him. “I think I’m in trouble.” He swung the bat backwards only to have it be caught mid-air. The man in the sweater vest was ducked, preparing for the imminent blow, but Tommy slowly looked behind him to see that stupid masked fuck he had stabbed earlier. Tommy sheepishly grinned. “Hey...Dream?” he guessed. 

He made no indication that Tommy was right or wrong as he kneed Tommy in the stomach and into the hands of the one with the blue sweater vest, who very immediately pulled him back and bashed him against the wall, knocking all the wind out of him. He grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slapped him across the face. Not punched. _Slapped_. 

It hurt, sure, but the shock of actually being backhanded instead of punched in the face kept him from yelping. He was pretty sure a few rings he had on his finger made cuts across Tommy’s left cheek, but he couldn’t properly tell. The whole thing stung. When his mind finally caught up to him, the first thing he could ask was: “Did you just fuckin’ _backhand_ me?” 

As if in response, the man dropped him to the ground. Tommy instinctively curled into a ball. His ears started to ring. 

“What should we do?” the one in the goggles said. “This wasn’t in the plan.”

“Eh,” Dream brushed off, looking around the shack. “There’s nothing useful in here.”

The one who was fighting Tubbo shrugged. Behind him, Tubbo was crawling on the floor. There was a gash in his head and he was coughing. Tommy didn’t even see what was happening to him. “Why don’t we just burn it down?” 

“What?” Tommy weekly protested, lifting himself up before Goggles beside him kicked him down in the shoulder that he had been cut on earlier. On his way down, he bit his lower lip and cried out a bit. 

“Ok,” Dream agreed, walking out of the house. He seemed to have a slight limp and bend a bit in order to protect his stomach. Tommy grinned as the blood trickled down his chin. _Bitch._

Before he could successfully walk away, Tommy grabbed Goggles’ leg and pulled backwards as hard as he could, tripping him. He fell to the floor, cracking the weak planks. It was a surprise they kept up for that long, Tommy acknowledged to himself. He cried out loudly in pain. “You little bitch!” Tommy used his leg to pull himself up, charging towards Tubbo the best he could. 

The one in the white shirt with a black turtleneck underneath lunged at him. _What was it with the fashion in this group that was so terrible?_ Tommy dodged one of his punches and an attempt to grab him, delivering a blow of his own that would send Turtleneck running straight into Dream, who was trying to help Goggles up. They fell on top of each other and _immediately_ started to complain about it. 

“Get _off_ of me!”

“That’s not my fault!”

He let out a sigh as he finally reached Tubbo and attempted to help him up. At first, Tubbo pulled away like he was afraid of the touch or didn’t at first see who it was. Once he realized it was Tommy, the two started to try and stand properly.

“Get them!”

“ _You have the gun.”_

“Where?”

“FOR THE LOVE OF-” 

That was the last thing he heard before a shot was fired at him. He instinctively ducked, pushing Tubbo down with him. It went into the window above his head, creating a perfect bullet hole with glass shattered around it. “Oh, great idea!” Tommy teased, using his elbow to shatter the entire window. 

“What the fuck?” Goggles growled.

Turtleneck growled louder. “I was aiming right!”

“Give me that!”

Immediately, two other shots were fired as Tommy lifted Tubbo upwards and pushed him outside. Just as Tommy was going through the window, a shot grazed his arm and he fell on the ground next to Tubbo. “Yes!” Dream yelled from inside. Tommy wailed as Tubbo attempted to help him up. The group inside started to say something else, but Tommy could no longer hear them. 

The two stumbled to an apartment building that was nearby and Tommy, deciding he would simply push past the pain, started to climb the fire escape without help, only to realize as he started that it was a terrible idea and fall to the ground. Tubbo let out a frustrated growl that turned into a yell and pulled Tommy to the side of the building where the two started running on the sidewalk, limping and stumbling the entire way.

When Dream caught up several feet away from them, they started to go faster. They pushed themselves onto the roof of a house with the others' help and held hands as they jumped on top of and off of buildings, running past the few cars and people that passed down their small town. For a few minutes they would seem safe until Dream or one of his other partners appeared around some corner. 

They looped around at some point like they were going back to the house. Maybe that was the plan before Tubbo dragged Tommy into an abandoned looking car park that overlooked their small shack and a few other buildings. Tommy immediately collapsed onto the pavement, trying to catch his breath. “Jesus,” he finally sighed out. 

He lifted himself up to look at Tubbo, who had the same idea and was laying on the cold pavement, looking up to the next level of a three level park. “Are you alright?” 

“He choked me.”

“Tubbo, I’m so-”

Tubbo cut him off. “No, you don’t understand, he choked me, but it _burnt._ ” 

Tommy stopped and moved closer. “What do you mean?” 

He answered his own question as his eyes set on two fresh burn scars that formed on Tubbo’s neck, right where Turtleneck’s hands would have been. “But it seemed to surprise _him_ too. That’s the only reason he stopped.” 

More confused, Tommy furrowed his eyebrows. “Maybe he didn’t know he had powers?” 

As soon as the words left his mouth Tubbo shot him a glare that could burn a hole through Tommy if he looked long enough. “You think?” 

The two heard a noise where the shack was and immediately crawled towards the edge, peering over to see three figures rushing into the shack. _“Fuck,”_ Tubbo cursed under his breath, while Tommy’s face fell. 

When Tommy met Tubbo, he was running from his childhood hero and needed a place to hide. Tubbo, who was alone, living in a tent at the time, provided shelter for more than just that day. Somehow he convinced Tommy to stay with him, thought Tommy protested in the beginning. His hero lived alone and fended for himself and so could Tommy. Or at least it’s what he wanted to be able to do. Both Tommy and Tubbo agreed that if Tommy didn’t live with Tubbo at the time that he did, he probably would have gotten himself killed. 

Both of them had lots in common, from interest to background. They worked well together, and Tubbo didn’t think Tommy’s career choice was a waste of time or dramatic. It was interesting, in fact. They both learned how to fight together, and Tubbo learned a lot of building and engineering from things Tommy ‘borrowed’ from random heroes. He could make his own unique weapons and defense at this point, and Tommy graciously provided him with the parts. 

Though they lived together for years, the shack was the first solid home they had in years. A year and a half they had lived there undetected, and Tubbo was dead serious about Tommy not leading anyone who might be out to get him to the shack. Tommy had a place near his home where he kept his disguise and weapons so as to not lead anyone back. It wasn’t that he forgot, it was just that he didn’t have time. He shoved his mask in his pocket and stumbled home. 

But now the three of them had seen him without his mask, they had found and almost done away with Tubbo, and the shack...

“That was...” Tommy trailed off, looking down below as two more people poured themselves into the small shack. The window that was right beside the door shattered outwards. A bit unnecessary, if he had anything to say about it. 

Tubbo sighed with his eyes on the scene as well. “Your fault, that was _your fault,”_ he deadpanned at the exact same time Tommy decided to continue his sentence. 

“My bad, no, that was totally my bad.”  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'll just write a little two shot inspired by this silly lil fic I love and adore  
> My brain: Hmmm complex storyline and world building?  
> Me:  
> Me: *Sighing* Yeah, ok
> 
> I don't have much planned for this, but I do have a rough idea. Let me know what you guys think :D  
> And if you liked it please read the work it's based off of. It's legitimately the funniest fic I've ever read, every chapter is a banger


	2. The Burning

“The kid here was someone you knew?” Phil asked, walking up to Wilbur who was looking through a burnt up book bag. He put his hand on Wilbur’s left shoulder, and knelt down, peering into the bag as well for a second before turning back to Dream, who was pacing in the doorway like he was distressed. 

He sighed. “Uh, yeah. I mean, not the one who torched the place, but the one who lived in the apartment.” 

Phil nodded in response, turning back to the bag to see Wilbur pull out half burnt and half water damaged books. “What was the name?” 

“ _ Why are the books wet?”  _ Wilbur wondered under his breath, sharing a glance with Phil, who only shrugged, looking a great bit less concerned than he was. Wilbur went back to digging through the bag. 

“Ranboo. But don’t worry about that, I can find him. What I’m worried about are the two boys that burnt down this shed.”

On the other side of the shack, investigating the broken window and attempting to pull it up, Technoblade spoke. “Could you describe them?”

It seemed like Dream was trying to think about it. “One was tall, the other was short. The tall one had blond or dirty blonde hair and wore a red sweater.”

“Annoying, wasn’t he?” George added spitefully, rubbing his right elbow, which he was pretty sure was sprained. “Liked to talk.” 

Techno nodded, looking outside to the grass. “What about the other one?”

Sapnap shrugged, scoffing. “Quieter. Still a bitch.” 

Dream sighed at the description. “Brown hair, dark blue hoodie.” He thought about it a bit more. “I didn’t get the best look at either of them.” 

Phil stood up as Wilbur threw out some contents of the bag. “Not a problem. Shouldn’t be too hard to find criminal children in this area.” He chuckled lightly, but before he could say anything else, Wilbur dumped out all the contents of the bag, drawing the attention of everyone besides Technoblade. 

“It’s like a whole bottle of water was dumped in here!”

He smiled, turning back to Dream. “Yeah, there’s something else I’ve been wondering. Why is there so much stuff here? You said no one was living here.”

“That’s what we thought,” Sapnap answered. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the wall, looking at Techno. “Clearly we were wrong.” 

“They must have decided that this would be a good place to settle into,” George clarified. 

Dream gave a tiny nod. “When we pulled up to Ranboo’s it must have freaked them out.”

Techno hummed, finally looking away from the window and toward Dream. “So they ran all the way back here? And you followed?”

Dream put his hands up in self defense. “I know. We should have just called the police, not followed.”

“We’re lucky you showed up, though,” George stated. “Sapnap would have probably lost his hands.” 

Sapnap opened his mouth just a bit in retaliation, but upon second thought just nodded and mustered up a small smile. His hands were neatly tucked under his arms and away from view. They were badly burned when Phil showed up, but thanks to whatever quick soothing ability Phil had and a health potion, they were fine. Badly scarred, but fine. He could live with the scars. They were cool anyway. 

“What are you looking through that bag for?” Techno asked as he walked to Wilbur. He nearly tripped over the destroyed small rug on the ground. He kicked it to the side.

“An ID or something,” Wilbur answered, opening an envelope to find shriveled up flowers and grass, for some reason. He groaned before slipping it back in the book he found it in. “They were kids, they went to school or something, right? I should at least find a school ID.” 

“Yeah, they were also  _ criminals _ .” 

Wilbur threw the bag at him. “I’m sorry, at least I’m doing something useful, not just staring at some broken glass.”

Techno and Wilbur continued to bicker while Phil looked back to the three. “They were both in Ranboo’s apartment when you came to visit?”

Dream and Sapnap nodded while George let out an audible yes. “They were covering their faces with masks until they ran to the shed too,” Dream tacked on. “I specifically remember the taller one. He had his hood up covering his eyes-”

“Not very well,” Sapnap added. 

“And a green scarf covering his half his mouth-”

“Not that it mattered,” George interrupted. “He had a red face mask on as well, so his mouth and nose were already covered.”

Dream nodded. “Fingerless gloves too. White.”

Phil paused. “Boys,” he called. Wilbur and Techno instantly stopped fighting and pushing the bag toward each other to look at Phil. “Were you listening?” They both looked at each other sheepishly, which Phil took as no. “It was that vigilante,” he snapped a few times as he attempted to recall his name. “That really cocky one who we always seem to just miss.” 

“The Red Flash,” Wilbur groaned. 

“He’s a  _ kid? _ ” Techno exclaimed. 

“Seems like it,” Phil confirmed. “And we just missed him again.” 

Wilbur threw the now empty bag down.  _ “Wonderful.”  _

Techno started to laugh. “He’s a kid!” He pointed to Wilbur. “Your mortal enemy is a child!” 

“But who was he with?”

Dream shrugged. “Some other kid.”

“Maybe another vigilante?” George suggested. Sapnap shrugged. 

Techno seemed properly amused. He grinned, looking between Phil and Wilbur. “A child vigilante.” Wilbur was not as happy. 

He looked to Dream. “How old would you say they were?”

He thought about it for a second, looking back to his friends for an answer before he said anything. “Maybe both around 15. They looked 15ish.” 

Sapnap chuckled. “Or 12.” 

“Is there anything we can do for Ranboo and Niki?” Phil asked, looking around the burnt shed. Dream had told them about how they found the kids in the apartment, but they hadn’t seen that yet. He told them it wasn’t necessary. “How’s their apartment?” 

“Nothing bad. They weren’t home so they didn’t get hurt.”

Sapnap nodded. “We can clean everything up before they come back, don’t worry.” 

“The real damage was the shed,” George added. 

Phil nodded in acknowledgement facing Sapnap. “When they arrive just make sure they know what happened.”

“This area is under our protection for the time being, in case he comes back.” Wilbur kicked over a fallen wood plank that was now laying on the ground. 

Techno grinned, leaning towards Dream. “Wynter has a bone to pick with a child.” Dream lightly chuckled. 

Wilbur turned around. “I can and will kill you in two seconds.”

Facing his brother again, Techno crossed his arms. “I’m so scared,” he mocked. As he did so, Wilbur turned to mist, which promptly dispersed and moved in several different directions. Techno tried to follow the clouds, but they looked to be all in separate areas. 

“Knock it off,” Phil warned. After his warning, Wilbur reappeared behind Techno, giving him a shove that caught him off guard. He stumbled a bit, but didn’t say anything. He just glared back to Wilbur slowly. Wilbur waved. “Wynter,” Phil warned again, and again, he turned to mist. 

“Can’t hear you,” he called in an echoey voice. “I’m ghost.” 

Techno moved to try and follow the clouds again. “Oh no, his most  _ useless power.”  _

Phil sighed, but ultimately decided that he didn’t want to deal with it. He looked back to the three. “It’s been fun, Dream. Call us if you see the Red Flash or whoever his partner is again.”

“No problem, thanks for stopping by.”

“Thanks,” George followed.   
“Thank you,” said Sapnap. 

Phil backed up a bit, spreading his long and black feathered wings. “Stay safe.” He whistled over to Techno and Wilbur, looking at the to see Techno throwing punches at the air in front of him leaving Wilbur to reappear behind him and punch his shoulder. 

They both looked at Phil, who only looked at them for a second with a smile before nodding upward and promptly disappearing into the sky. 

“Blade,” Dream called. Techno looked over. “I’ll be seeing you around?” 

“At some point,” he grinned, sticking his hand out for Dream to shake. 

He took it, stepping closer to the hero. “Looking forward to kicking your ass.”

Techno tilted his head in mock confusion. “That’s weird. I don’t see that happening.” Before Dream could respond, Techno’s crown was knocked off his head. He let go of Dream’s hand, wiping around. “Where is he? I’ll kill him.” As if on cue, Wilbur reappeared outside of the shed, seen through the window. 

He waved at Techno and Techno scooped his crown up off the ground, disappearing in a mass of glitches only to appear outside and chase a now running Wilbur. Occasionally the two disappeared and reappeared in different places, trying to lose each other or catch the other off guard. 

Techno somehow got ahead, teasing Wilbur behind him before he disappeared behind a nearby building, supposedly using it for cover. When Wilbur reappeared again to follow him, he ran straight into Techno’s open hand. He was about to make fun of him before noticing that Techno was looking in the direction of the shed past the corner of the building. His smile started to drop as he walked around to Techno’s shoulder in order to see what he was. 

From their distance they could see a small bit of the shed between buildings, including the broken window Techno had been studying earlier and a bit of the front lawn, with the car park behind it and the apartment buildings next to it. It wasn’t a crystal clear view, having some obstacles in the way, but it was good enough. 

“What?” 

Techno didn’t answer until Dream walked out of the house with Sapnap behind him. The two were talking about something they couldn’t hear. “Dream’s lying about something.” 

“What about?” 

He shook his head. “I can’t exactly tell which part, cause he wasn’t nervous. He was eerily calm about the whole thing.” In the distance, Dream and Sapnap stopped to face the entrance, most likely talking to George. 

“So how do you know?”

“Most likely because he thought he could get away with it,” Techno answered. “He had it under control.”

“Was it how the shed burned down?”

“Oh, obviously. But it was something else. More important.” 

Wilbur looked in the same direction once more, watching Dream, Sapnap, and George discuss something before disappearing from view, probably walking back to the apartment. Even as they did, Techno didn’t move, nor did he take his eyes from the area. He seemed focused. “Dad knows Dream can’t be trusted at face value. He probably already figured it out,” Wilbur reassured.

Techno waved him off. “Dad’s smart, but so is Dream.” He waited a few more seconds before looking away from the shed. “He’s not a good liar, but he is good at misdirection.”

Wilbur tried to think of a way to respond, only to come up empty handed. The relationship between Techno and Dream was an odd one, and of course, one of Techno’s gifts was that he could tell what people were feeling. As twins he was supposed to share a sort of off brand of that power, but he didn’t. He didn’t exactly like that fact. 

He nodded towards the city. “Come on. I don’t want to be here.” He started walking before Techno could respond. “We’ll think about it tomorrow.” 

Instead of moving with him, Techno watched as he started to walk away. He looked between his brother and the shed. Dream, George, and Sapnap were out of sight by now, and the shed was left perfectly still. 

The place wasn’t all too decorated, but it did have a rug, sleeping bags, books, and what looked like a small cooler. It didn’t look like people had just started to live in it recently. And the window he was looking at was busted outwards, with glass shards and blood on the grass. In fact, every old window was busted. 

He stole one final glance before turning around and seeing Wilbur walk away quite a bit in front of him. He hadn’t turned around or waited. Techno jogged a bit to walk behind him, trying to shake off the feeling he had gotten from the chill in Dream’s words. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I actually finished a second chapter


	3. A New Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM FUCKING POPPING OFF

Neither of them knew how long exactly they had been walking. They were in the city now. It wasn’t the best place to be for a vigilante. It’s where all the action was, and more action meant more work, sure, but it also meant more opportunities to get caught. Tommy didn’t have the biggest problem with that if he was being honest. It was mostly Tubbo. 

He never actually got caught, even if he was found out. The closest to ever getting caught was today, and he didn’t even get caught then. He was just shot, he got the shit beat out of him, Tubbo was choked and burnt, his house burned down, he made more enemies, and he had to leave all of his belongings behind. Oh, and Tubbo was mad at him, but he didn’t get _caught._

Tommy thought about it for a bit. No. He didn’t get _caught._ His house did and he maybe got caught in a _fight_ but he was in fights all the time. It didn’t count. If he was actually caught, he would be in jail by now, or at that stupid hero HQ, or maybe dead. Something inside him was tickled at the idea. Death had always been a distant and strange concept, even when he started working so close to it, but today, Tubbo was thrown into the mix, and he thought about it clearly for the first time. 

Both of them could have _died._ They were going to _burn_ them like they were _nothing._ Not just burn them, but burn them alive inside their own house. How fucked was that? He tried to suppress a chuckle. They could have _died._

"This isn’t a laughing matter!” Tubbo stated, breaking the silence. “Where are we going to live now? We had that place for a year and a half, we had a nice set up! We were by houses and not too far from the city and we were hidden and inconspicuous, and now we're on the streets! And who's fault is that? What was my one rule?" He pointed at Tommy, waiting for an answer. 

Tommy sighed. "Triple check no one was following."

"What did you do?"

"Double check." Tubbo swiftly slapped his shoulder. "Fuckin' hell!" he exclaimed, drawing back. It didn’t hurt as much as he let on, but the surprise of it added to his reaction. He rubbed his shoulder with his left hand. "Hitting me isn’t going to solve anything!" 

"We're homeless!" 

"We've been homeless before, we'll be alright, Tubbo." He looked beside him to see Tubbo crossing his arms. Tubbo looked away from Tommy, but not before Tommy saw the look in his eyes. "Oh well don't cry about it. What will that get done?" 

"I miss my backpack." 

"Your backpack smelled." 

"It had all my important stuff in it." 

He cringed. "You kept leaves in that thing, man. Leaves." 

"Sentimental leaves," Tubbo whined. It didn’t sound exaggerated. He was upset. Tommy was too, but he didn’t exactly know what else to do about it. They needed to find a home. 

He sighed, face falling. "I'm really sorry, Tubbo. I really am. They were persistent though. It was weird. I tried to lose them." Though he allowed Tubbo time to say something else to him, a hard silence fell between them. Tommy shivered uncomfortably. "Tubbo," he whined back, hoping to catch his attention. "You know I didn't mean to. I always respect your rules and stuff, it was just an accident." Again, Tubbo said nothing, so he continued. "We can tell people our home was destroyed by vigilantes and ask for money." 

Finally, Tubbo shook his head a bit. "That's cheap."

"Our home _was_ destroyed. And that guy could have been a vigilante or a vigilante supporter." 

"What happens here in the city when someone recognizes you?" 

Tommy let out a chuckle. “And do what? I can’t imagine the shack can be burned to the ground twice.” This resulted in two punches from Tubbo right into his right shoulder. Not expecting the blows, Tommy stumbled to the side a bit, trying to push Tubbo’s fists down with his hands. “Stop hitting me!” 

Once Tubbo calmed down, Tommy rubbed the sore spot on his shoulder again. “I’ll be more careful,” he reassured. “Maybe they have a shelter in the city. Or we can bunker with someone else.” 

“What a great idea, why didn’t I think about that?” Tubbo agreed sarcastically. Something to his voice was poisonous and harsh. “There must be _thousands_ of people in the city ready to take in a wanted orphan child vigilante and his wanted orphan child supporter!”

Tommy frantically shushed him. "Keep your voice down!” he whisper yelled. “We're literally in public." He looked around at the people walking around them. No one seemed to care. 

"It's not like the shack can be burned to the ground twice." 

He growled. His own words were thrown back to him in that _stupid_ condescending voice Tubbo put on whenever he was upset or telling Tommy off. He hated it. "Maybe you're right. If we turned ourselves in, we'd have a place to sleep." 

"Thanks Tommy!" he chirped in a fake happiness. The two fell silent. Sure, it was his fault. Maybe he deserved it a little bit. He said he was sorry! He was trying to find a place for them to sleep that was not going to be a shit hole. What else did he want? 

He was about to retaliate with something equally as sarcastic and jabbing but as soon as he looked at Tubbo he could tell that it wasn’t the right time. He shut his mouth instantly. Tubbo had his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on the pavement as they walked. After all these years he could tell when his friend was trying not to cry. He didn’t like crying. That was something the two had in common. 

“Did you know I hate city birds?” he said. Tubbo looked up at him, confused. He had lowered his voice so it just sounded like any old conversation. “I mean, I like birds, but city birds are annoying. Like pigeons and shit.”

“City birds are smart.”

Tommy scoffed. “No they’re not, they’re dumb. Dumb fucks.” 

Tubbo chuckled. “You must relate to them a lot then.”

“I can probably pick you up and throw you.” 

He nodded solemnly. “You probably can.”

Tommy grinned in response. “I know.” He and Tubbo both held back bits of laughter. “So don’t test me.” 

Once again, silence fell between the two. But unlike last time, it was a bit more comfortable, with the two both smiling and stepping unintentionally closer together, and it didn’t last as long. "What do you think about me getting a job?" Tubbo proposed. 

Tommy raised his eyebrows. "Like, a _job_ job?" 

"Just like a cashier or a waiter or something." 

"Can you get a _job_ job?" He didn’t mind it. Tubbo could do whatever he wanted, of course, but they didn’t have a home, a bank account, and they had lost all forms of identification a while ago, which Tommy was pretty sure were three things he needed for a job. They practically lived off the grid. "What are the requirements?" 

"I think we have to have a home first," he said, confirming Tommy’s suspicions. 

"I hate this place," Tommy admitted. "It's a city. It's bound to have empty flats and shit, why don't we just break into one?" 

"What, and live there?" Tubbo thought about it for a second. "But they have security! And landlords and crap, who check on the safety of their building. And what happens when it rents out?" 

"We live in someone's basement, like little raccoon people," Tommy suggested as an alternative. 

Tubbo shook his head. "I don't think that'll work." 

Tommy pretended to pout. "Why do you always say no to my ideas?" 

"Your last idea is why we're home hunting again." 

He sighed. It was true. "We need money." 

"No robbing." 

Tommy put both his hands up in self defense. "I wasn't thinking of robbery, I'm not a criminal, Tubbo." 

“You're not above robbery either.” 

He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pants. “I’m not above _light stealing._ Robbery is a completely different thing.”

“They’re literally both crimes.” 

“One is crime-y-er.” 

“You mean worse.” 

Tommy nodded. “That’s what I said.” 

Tubbo sighed in defeat, looking around the city. “I think the empty flat idea is all that we have right now.”

“We need to find the most _run down_ looking building. It’ll have awful security and probably a bunch of empty rooms, maybe even with stuff left in them, and if we’re lucky, it will be months before anyone finds us, yeah?” He looked at Tubbo for confirmation. Tubbo was still scanning the city, but quickly stooped to look in the distance. 

“Like that building.” Tommy looked in the same direction to find a decently sized apartment building. Paint was chipping away from it, and even the build itself looked sad and only halfway done.

He nudged Tubbo with his elbow. “Good eyes.” With that, the two set off to the building, running across streets and past a few restaurants and corner stores that blocked the way. They slowed themselves as they got closer to the building, making sure no one was looking at them or patrolling the rooms.

They started to circle the perimeter before Tommy stopped at the back of the building, looking into a window only a few feet from the ground. “This one looks empty.”

Tubbo looked around as he struggled to open the window. No one was looking at them, and the back of the building was well hidden by other buildings and parking lots, but something in him continued to tell him that this wasn’t the best idea. “Is it smart to be on the first floor?”

“It’s not smart to be on any floor,” Tommy replied as he took his hands away from the window and tried again. _At least he’s aware,_ Tubbo thought. 

“I’m just saying, it’s the most likely to be checked.” 

“How come?” 

He looked inside the window. The room was empty aside from trash on the floor and a few bags. As much as he didn’t like it, the main room was spacious, and he just wanted someplace to sit at this point. “It’s the _first floor._ The first one you walk into.” 

Tommy backed away from the window and looked up the building. “Then why don’t we go to the top?” 

“How?” They both backed up to get a view of the top windows.

“The buildings are close enough together to hop,” Tommy said as he turned from side to side, taking a look at his surroundings. 

Tubbo hummed in consideration. “Too high. If we get caught, what do we do?”

Turning to Tubbo, Tommy’s shoulders dropped in a fake pout. “Oh my God, you are the hardest person to please.” 

“I’m just trying not to get caught and taken to jail. I want a place to sleep, Tommy.”

He sighed. “Alright, alright.” He backed up to one of the restaurants. “One of the middle rooms.” 

“That works.” They both climbed a pipe to reach the top of one of the restaurants just so they were close enough to make the jump to the fire escape. As they did, the unsteady fire escape made a few creaking noises. The pair stopped for a few seconds to make sure that they wouldn’t break it immediately, and climbed on when everything felt safe.

Making it to a bit lower than half way, Tommy started to look through the windows. “Any empty ones?” Tubbo said in a voice barely above a whisper, like someone would hear him if he spoke any louder. 

“Three in a row over here,” he said while pointing across three evenly spaced windows. One hung away from the fire escape, so to get in they would have to do some careful climbing, while the other two were still hard to reach, but safer routes. “Take your pick.” Tubbo pointed to the one in the middle that would be easiest to climb through. 

Tommy nodded, walking towards the window and putting his fingers under the grip as he had to bend a little to reach it. With every step they took, the fire escape made a faint creaking noise. They both knew if it was up for this long it wouldn’t just fall on them, but it was hard not to feel a little nervous “Now, when we throw this open, an alarm _may_ sound.” 

He tried to pull it open for a solid minute before giving up. “It’s locked.” Before Tubbo could give him any instructions, Tommy lined his right arm with the window, making a fist and covering it with his sweater sleeve. He drew back as Tubbo started to panic. 

“Don’t bust it open! What are you doing?”

Tommy stopped, but looked at Tubbo with a confused expression. “How are we going to get in there?”

“Pick another one!” Tubbo answered. Tommy looked unsure, but slowly lowered his fist and walked to the window to the left of it. “Jesus!” 

He grabbed the grip once more. “Now, when we throw this open, an alarm _may_ sound,” he repeated. Tommy attempted to open that window only to have the same luck. It wasn’t budging.

“Locked as well?”

Tommy struggled a few more times with the window before giving up entirely. “It doesn’t seem like we’re having much luck getting into the building.” Tubbo sighed as he moved to the third window, and leaned outwards to get a good grip. He looked back to Tubbo, who was moving towards him with his hands ready to catch Tommy. “Now, when we throw this open-”

“Open the damn window,” Tubbo interrupted. Tommy tried to open the window, accidentally almost crushing his fingers as it flew up with ease. He was pulled with the window, leaning more over the edge of the fire escape. 

Surprised, Tommy became unbalanced, and almost slipped. He wouldn’t have fallen off the fire escape- even if it felt like it- but Tubbo still wrapped his arms tightly around Tommy’s middle and pulled him back. “What the hell, man?”

He rubbed his hands gently, realizing how close he was to losing his fingertips. “I thought it would be locked.” 

Tubbo moved past him, bringing him down to reality again as got on top of the railing and put one foot in the room carefully. Tommy moved to hold him up as he stepped through the window. “It looks like they left some things here.” He turned around, stomach leaning against the window, and put both arms out for Tommy to grab onto. 

“Good for us.” Tommy grabbed one of Tubbo’s arms, holding the fire escape with the other, and dangerously launched himself in the window. Tubbo’s eyes widened as he did, but he didn’t have time to say anything as Tommy was barreling into his arms. The two stumbled as Tommy fell into him, but Tubbo didn’t fall. They gripped each other’s arms for a few seconds until they regained balance and Tubbo could safely shove him off.

He turned around and cracked the window behind him before looking at anything else. As he turned to scan the room, the first thing he set eyes on was a blue futon that Tubbo was already investigating. “A futon!”

“It’s dirty.”

“We can clean it!” He looked to the left of him, seeing a narrow hall beside the front door, and started towards it. “Don’t be a downer, Tubso.” 

At the end of the hall was another room with a door that was only cracked, but closer to him was a closed room. “We should have at least brought the sleeping bags,” Tubbo called.

“You can have the futon and I’ll sleep on the floor for now.” Tommy opened the door, looking back to where the main room was. “At least our shopping list is shorter.” 

Tubbo gasped. “They left a box full of photos and letters.” 

He smiled before turning back to the room in front of him. It was a small bathroom. On the floor were two large black trash bags and three smaller white ones. “The bathroom is full of garbage bags.” He stepped away from the door to get a better look. “Like, _full_ of garbage bags.” 

“Tommy?” Tubbo called hesitantly from the living room. 

He looked into the small room beside the bathroom. It seemed to be like a kitchen area, but there was only a microwave and empty cooler. “Yeah?”

“Our _neighbors_ are in these photos,” Tubbo answered. That caught Tommy’s attention, bringing his gaze back down the short hall into the main room. “Ranboo and Niki.” 

Before he said anything about it he made his way to where Tubbo was sitting in front of a wide yet shallow cardboard box that was in the left corner of the room. When Tommy appeared behind him, bending down a bit to see the photos, Tubbo held up a polaroid of a blurry Niki hooked up to a zipline, mid yell as she was a few feet away from the platform and already off the ground, holding onto the cord like it was her last lifeline, and Ranboo, struggling to put on the harness. 

Tommy took the photo to look a bit closer at it. He didn’t recognize the place or the person who looked like they helped Niki off the platform. “That’s fuckin’ peculiar.”

Tubbo picked up another photo. It wasn’t a polaroid this time, but it looked rather old. It seemed to be a family photo, but he had no idea who anyone in the photo was. “Really peculiar.” He handed the picture back to Tubbo, trying to chalk it up to coincidence. “Small world.” 

“Is this the place they moved out of, then?” Just as the question escaped Tubbo, the door opened behind them. 

They turned around to see a man with a cardboard box in his arms looking down to the two of them with a horrified expression. It took only a second for both of them to determine that he bore no resemblance to either Ranboo or Niki. That was just as much time it took Tommy to get up and rush towards him without a second thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No seriously, three chapters in three days while I am also streaming all week and working on other projects? Don't expect this level of productivity from me all the time, but holy shit, I'm on a roll. Anyway: cliffhanger. A mystery man.


	4. A New Identity

The box dropped to the floor as the man tried to make his way out the door, but Tommy very quickly used his left forearm to slam the door shut while getting the man out of the doorway and pinning him against the wall with his right forearm. It helped that the man was shorter than him. Though he always tried his best, the most intimidating things about Tommy were his boldness and his height. 

Still, the man looked terrified. He had messy bright orange hair that fell only slightly past the edges of his ears and dull brown eyes that were only slightly covered by his bangs. He had faint eye bags as well, and his clothes looked wrinkled and worn, with a black jacket that was slightly too large for him over a dull, white shirt. He was very obviously tired. Tommy could sense it immediately. He could use that to his advantage. 

Almost as soon as the door slammed, he started speaking. “Look, just take what you want, I don't have much, I'm super broke but don't let me get kicked out, ok?” Tommy was about to reply when he stopped out of confusion. He sounded frantic. 

“The landlord is being super nice to let me stay here and I don't want to ruin it. It's been really hard to keep up with things ever since my last roommates moved out and the rent keeps going up and it's getting to a point where I'm not sure if I'll have this place for much longer so honestly I'm getting ready to go at any time but if you don't speed up the process that would be really helpful because so far I'm doing really really good and when I get kicked out I want it to be because of my own financial problems, you know?”

“Not some robbery accident that’s out of my control but seriously, you can take anything, I’ll even give you my wallet if you want, I keep everything in there, I just can’t live on the streets again, I worked so hard for this place.”

_ Way _ too frantic. Almost every word was slurred together with the one before it as he tried to get it out all at once. Tommy took a second to take it in before speaking in a surprisingly very calm and collected manner. “What's your name?”

“Fundy,” he stuttered out. He seemed to lower his voice to match Tommy’s. 

“I didn't  _ fucking _ ask, Fundy.”

Though Tommy didn’t raise his voice, Fundy tried to back into the wall more, despite the fact that Tommy had all his weight put against keeping Fundy on the wall anyway. He raised his hands slightly. “Ok, just take anything you want!”

Behind him, Tubbo sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, Tommy thought to himself. “Let him go, Tommy.” Tommy didn’t comply right away, instead glaring at Fundy for a second as if to say  _ try me.  _ He backed up slowly, releasing Fundy from the wall. When he stopped walking, he was still close enough to extend his arm and push Fundy back if he needed to. “We want to stay.”

Silence fell between the three of them as Fundy’s face flew through five different emotions. Mostly confusion. “What?”

“We need a place to stay.”

They were quiet again as Fundy walked through more emotions. “I live here though.”

Tubbo nodded. “Could we stay?” The third time the silence fell, Fundy moved towards the door slightly, causing Tommy to simply lean forward and hold it shut with one hand while he glared down to Fundy, who just backed up. “Tommy!”

“He was reaching for the door!” Tommy explained. Fundy shook his head slightly, getting ready to defend himself before Tommy spoke again. “If you rat us out, I'll kill you.”

“Ok!” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat, speaking lower. “Ok! I won't then! You can stay!”

Tommy nodded, pulling away slowly. “Good.” He backed up to stand only slightly before Tubbo. 

“We can help,” Tubbo suggested. Tommy looked back to face him like he had three heads. “Help with rent and stuff, yeah. And cleaning.” 

Tommy raised his eyebrows, drawing Tubbo's attention. The two stared at each other for a bit in silence, waiting for the other to say something. “I am not going to clean. Or help you with rent.” He lowered his voice as if Fundy wasn’t only a few feet in front of him. “We don't even have jobs, Tubbo.”

“I can get one. I have a home now.” Tubbo looked back to Fundy, nodding towards him. “Fundy can act as my guardian.”

“I'm sorry, what?”

“Yeah. Like an older brother.”

Fundy was quiet, trying to figure out the right words. He seemed to go through several different options before settling. “What?”

“And then we'll help you with rent and we'll help you clean the place up. It can be great!”

Tommy looked over to Fundy. “Just to let you know. I will  _ not  _ be thinking of you as an older brother.” 

Fundy sighed. “Yeah, ok, I don’t- I don’t care.” 

Tubbo pointed to the other side of the room. “Oh, there are rooms to the right.” He started walking to them. Tommy didn’t follow. His eyes were still on Fundy, as if he was expecting Fundy to do something at any given moment. “Here, Tommy.” 

Tommy looked over slightly to where Tubbo was, keeping Fundy in the corner of his eye. Sure enough there were two doors. “I didn’t even notice those.”  
“Yeah, the doors are all painted the same color for some reason.”

Tommy hummed, looking back to Fundy. Fundy smiled nervously and shrugged like he had any say in the paint job or how the apartment was laid out. “That’s dumb.”

“It really is,” Tubbo agreed, nodding. He opened one of the doors to find that it was not, in fact, a room. 

“That’s a closet,” Fundy explained. 

Tommy narrowed his eyes. “I thought you said you lived with roommates, you have to have  _ rooms  _ to have  _ roommates. _ ”

“They just stayed for a few months. They moved around a lot.”

“What, Niki and Ranboo?” Fundy instantly whipped his head toward Tubbo, who was now behind Tommy again, eyes wide. He opened his mouth a bit to respond, but nothing came out. 

It took a second for Tubbo to realize that Fundy was not expecting Tubbo to know who his old roommates were and probably started to see his life flash before his eyes. “Oh, I saw your pictures with them and it turns out we know them! They moved in beside us at one point, we were neighbors.”

That didn’t seem to calm Fundy down as much as he was expecting. “Actually their flat was broken into, like, today, which is why we left our place,” Tommy added. Fundy looked to him, moving his mouth to an ‘o’ shape and then closing it. “Don’t worry, they weren’t hurt, I stopped it.”

“You- sh- I’m so- you, you…” Fundy trailed off, taking a deep breath. “Ok, explain. Please. What is going on?” Neither Tommy nor Tubbo answered right away. They really couldn’t explain. Not that it was too hard, but it could potentially be dangerous. “Are you like a hero or something?” Tommy’s eyes widened slightly. “Running from criminals? And using my apartment as cover?” 

Tommy bit his bottom lip and hesitantly nodded. “Yes,” he drew out. 

“Oh my God.” Fundy rubbed his face with both hands, covering his eyes. “When they find you-”

“They won’t find me, Fundy. You know why?” Tommy waited for Fundy to take his hands away from his face and look at him properly. “Cause I’m the best.” Fundy did not look convinced. He could have swore he heard Tubbo groan behind him, but decided to ignore it. 

Fundy sighed. “Why don’t you just call the city’s hero headquarters or something? They can help.”

“No, no,” Tommy said immediately, shaking his head. “Don’t get the headquarters involved.”

Just as he was coming to realize that what he just did came off as suspicious, Fundy looked him up and down. “How old are you?”

“Old enough,” he stated with enthusiasm. He could practically hear Tubbo behind him quietly putting his head in his hands, and when he turned around, that was exactly what he was greeted with. 

“Ok, ok, ummm…” Tommy turned back to Fundy as he spoke. “I was going to pick up some food.” He jabbed his thumb towards the door, talking slowly, like he didn’t quite know what he was saying. He looked between Tommy and Tubbo. “Any requests?”

Tommy was about to answer before behind him Tubbo spoke in a high pitched voice. “Nope! Just whatever is fine!” When he looked back with his eyebrows furrowed and his face twisted in a sort of  _ what the fuck  _ expression, he saw that Tubbo was smiling brightly and looking back to Fundy. “Thank you, Fundy.”

As he heard the door open, he turned back around. “If you come back with anyone or tell  _ anyone  _ about this, you are dead.” 

Fundy saluted with two fingers. It was only now that Tommy could tell he was shaking. Made sense. “You got it, bud.” 

As soon as Fundy shut the door, Tubbo started to punch Tommy’s chest while Tommy tried to block the blows with his arms and move away. “Will you stop physically fighting me? Just talk to me like a normal person!” 

Taking what Tommy said to heart, Tubbo started punching faster and harder for a few more seconds before backing off. “I thought it was empty!” He said in a quiet yet strained voice, like he meant to yell but didn’t want to be too loud about it. 

“I thought so too!” Tommy replied in the same kind of strained voice. He looked towards the door. “I don’t know if I trust that Fundy guy.”

“What choice do we have?” Tubbo asked. Tommy didn’t answer. He was right. They needed a place to sleep, and he had o doubt in his mind that if they just left without a word, Fundy would probably call the police on them, if that’s not what he was doing right now. “You’re a  _ hero  _ now?”

Tommy looked at Tubbo again. “Hey, he said it, and I couldn’t exactly tell him otherwise.”

“What’s he going to do when he realizes that you don’t have powers? Worse, what’s he going to do if he sees a vigilante looking like you on the news?” 

Tommy crossed his arms, confused. “I’ve never been on the news, what are you talking about? Stop being paranoid!” 

Changing the subject, Tubbo crossed his own arms. “You better have a  _ damn  _ good backstory made up.” He scoffed. “A child hero who can’t go back to headquarters and broke into a seemingly empty flat to hide from criminals instead of getting help from the police.” He used one hand to count down his points. “You have no powers-” one finger, “-no super name-” two fingers, “-no  _ costume- _ ” three fingers. 

“Was the alternative any better?” Tommy interrupted before Tubbo counted any more points. “I’m actually a vigilante, hiding from the police, criminals, and heroes. Can I please stay with you for a few weeks until me and my associate get on our feet? I can’t promise you won’t get targeted or anything.” 

They looked at each other for a few seconds that ended up feeling more like hours. “He’ll find out.” 

Tommy shrugged. “We’ll leave before he does.” 

“And go where?”

Exasperated, he uncrossed his arms and exaggerated another shrug that was more like just throwing his arms out to the side of himself. “I don’t know, we’re in the same boat!” 

“Well…” Tubbo started before he thought quietly for a minute. “If he can help me get a job and I can help him keep the place up, he won’t kick us out. We just have to be good roommates.” 

Tommy cocked his head. “Now, Tubbo, you know I’m not good at that.”

Tubbo grinned, scoffing. “Believe me, we’ve lived together since we were  _ ten,  _ I know.” 

Walking backwards towards the futon that was near the corner of the living room, Tommy sighed, faking a pout. “I know I said it, but you didn’t have to agree.” He let himself fall down on it, realizing that it was a lot harder than he had imagined. However, he hadn’t sat down in hours, and immediately sunk into it. 

“I’m going to start cleaning. It’s dirty here.” He closed his eyes and readjusted himself so his head would be supported on it when he laid down. However, he was only halfway on it, and he let the lower half of his body slide off the edge of the futon and lay on the carpeted floor. He heard a switch flick. Then again. Then again and again. “And the lights don’t work.” 

He hummed. “I’m not surprised.” 

“You can help.”

Tommy opened one eye and lifted his head a little to see Tubbo already picking up papers and bottles that were near the door. “I just got the shit beat out of me, walked a thousand miles here, and then climbed through a window and almost fell to my death. I need a breather.”

“You were nowhere close to falling,” Tubbo corrected, walking to the bathroom. “And so did I! I did the exact same thing!” He walked back carrying too half empty trash bags, setting one down and placing the few things he picked up inside. 

“Yeah, but you’re older than me,” Tommy commented as he closed his eyes again. Just as he laid his head back on the futon, a trash bag collided with it. It bent over him, spilling assorted garbage behind him. He yelled out. “Quit being fucking violent!”

“Help me, or I’ll kill you.” 

Tommy groaned, seeing no way this, and slowly stood up, turning around to pick up the trash that had fallen behind him. "Oh my God, you are so fucking annoying and dumb," 

"Ok." 

"It's like you don't even care about me or my feelings." 

"You got our home burned down today." 

As Tommy was putting the last of the fallen garbage in the bag, he glanced back at Tubbo just in time to see Tubbo look over to him. "I also got shot and you haven't asked me how I was doing once." 

"My throat got magic-ed and it hurts when I breathe, where's my sympathy?" Tubbo looked away from his friend in order to move on to the next area. It was quiet for a few seconds as Tommy felt something painful grow in his chest. He couldn’t move for a bit, and when he could, it was only slowly. 

"You didn't tell me that." 

"In the car park, I did." 

Tommy shook his head, unsure if Tubbo could see him or not. "No, that it hurts when you breathe. Does it actually?" 

"Yeah. It's calmed down a bit, but clearing my throat sucks. So does swallowing." 

He sighed under his breath, looking around the small corner where the futon was to see a laptop that was partially hidden under some blankets and two books pressed against the corner. "You know I didn't mean to do that." 

"What?" 

"Have them follow me." He decided he didn’t want to deal with any organization and looked behind himself as Tubbo was moving a few scattered boxes to the corner. "They were just really strong and I had to get away and I panicked." 

"It's alright,” Tubbo replied as he picked a box up. He looked at Tommy when he put it back down. “Why would I think you meant to do that?" 

Tommy didn’t answer, instead asking a question of his own. "How are you?"

Tubbo looked away to the next box and shrugged. "It hurts when I breathe." 

While on the subject, Tommy was reminded of just how  _ bad  _ they looked. Tubbo had a small gash and dried blood on his forehead, an oddly burnt neck, and dried blood on his torn clothes. 

Tommy probably didn’t look any better, but he hadn’t looked in a mirror to confirm. He knew he must have at least had a black eye and a cut on his cheek. There were also cuts in his sweater sleeve, revealing exactly where he was cut and where the bullet had grazed, with the cut on his left arm, right under the shoulder, and the other next to his right elbow, making it slightly hard for him to move his elbow at all. 

He didn’t want to look at either of them yet. He’d probably pass out. "He didn’t bring up how shit we looked that entire time." 

Tubbo chuckled. "Yeah, cause we broke into his place and started talking about forcefully moving in. I don't think he noticed or cared." 

Tommy grinned as he started to floor and pick up random pieces of trash again, starting with a snapped pencil and a balled up flier. "I did see him look down at your neck a few times." 

"How bad is it? Cause it hurts a lot." 

He looked over to check. "It's not too noticeable." Tubbo looked at him with concern. It seems like neither of them had been quite ready to see their wounds. Tommy used his right hand to rub his neck on the spots Tubbo’s scars would be. "A bit red and blotchy. The fact that it's on your neck doesn't help with the noticeability thing though." 

Tubbo shrugged, going back to his work. "I figured it wouldn't." They fell silent for a second. "How’s your arm? And back?" 

Tommy smiled slightly as he knelt to the floor to pick up some coins that were hidden in the dark carpet. "Ah, well. They hurt but the trick is that when your brain tells your body that they hurt just go 'No, I don't think so,' and then you're too confused to feel pain." 

Tubbo let out a laugh. "This job kind of sucks for you. You get in a lot of trouble. There's a lot of pain involved." 

"You get used to it,” Tommy replied. 

They continued to chatter and clean to the best of their abilities until Fundy came back with two large pizzas and a bag of assorted sodas, slightly taken aback at the sight of Tommy and Tubbo actually cleaning. They ate on the floor with plastic and paper plates, sitting on a picnic blanket. Fundy nervously put on some sci-fi show none of them had ever heard of, but surprisingly the three of them fell into comfortable conversation that continued even after they were done with their meal. 

If you walked in, you never would have guessed that only hours earlier Tommy was threatening Fundy’s life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not pictured: Fundy getting in his car and crying


	5. What's in a Hero (pt. One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short Dadboyhalo content OwO?

Hellos were brief. Lunch was quick. They loved each other- they were family, of course- and growing up had never been  _ terrible,  _ but there were hiccups. So many hiccups. Sapnap always had what he needed to become who he was today and for the most part he got what he wanted as well. He wouldn’t even say that much was missing from his childhood, just a few key things. Independence. Freedom, maybe. Maybe he felt like his dad didn’t listen to him or take his problems as seriously as he should have. Just maybe. 

Bad wasn’t prepared to be a parent. He didn’t know how to handle it, of course there were going to be hiccups, but he was  _ fiercely  _ protective of Sapnap and extremely loving. Which was a good thing most of the time. Who wouldn’t want a parent like that? They loved each other, and they knew each other had done the best they could with what they had.

Still, hellos were brief and lunch was quick. 

"Dad," Sapnap spoke hesitantly as he sat at the table in the kitchen that seemed to never change. Stepping into Bad and Skeppy’s house was like stepping through time. The chairs remained the same, except the one Sapnap broke when he was younger, and the old table still stood strong, with every scratch and mark it had built up in the several years it remained in that house. 

“Sapnap,” Bad responded from a good few feet away at the sink, washing the dishes that come from preparing and serving lunch. 

As soon as Bad replied, Sapnap had second thoughts. Of course Bad would know what to do better than anyone else ever would. Bad was one of the only people who knew what was actually happening. 

He also had his own powers and things that came with being a creature to deal with. He would understand. “It’s getting harder,” he started, though he wasn’t quite sure where he was going. “To control. The powers? The fire ones?” His voice started to trail as soon as he mentioned them. He didn’t hate them, but he didn’t know what to think of them either. Even after nineteen years, he had no idea. 

“What happened?”

He let out a deep breath, recalling the events from that morning. “I burnt someone today.”

Bad made a clicking sound with his tongue. “Oh, Sapnap.”

“I was doing…” He trailed off, trying to figure out how to phrase it. He absolutely could not tell Bad the full story. Not that he even knew the full story himself. He was just following Dream, for the most part. “Something...and it just happened.” He looked at his hands, which were laid out on the table. “But I didn't just burn them, I burnt myself.”

Thanks to Philza, they didn’t look as bad now, but dark red spots covered them, and some broke off in vines that seemed to decorate not just the palms of his hands or the back, but they spread only an inch off his wrist before fading. 

He didn’t lie. Burning the boy’s neck had hurt him too, and the bottom half of his hands showed that. They were probably the most burnt, looking like he had picked some burning thing up without gloves. However, not all of the scars resulted from his powers. He had been reckless when he had the honors of setting the shed ablaze. 

He just wanted to understand. Thank god George was next to him. Thank god Philza arrived. 

Bad hummed. “I saw those earlier. I didn’t want to say anything.” He turned on the water, rinsing his last sinkful of dishes. 

“Yeah.”

“What were you doing?”

Sapnap decided to answer the question in a different way, hoping Bad wouldn’t notice. “It wasn’t like the other times.” He opened and closed his hands a few times. It didn’t hurt, but it did feel weird. Like there was a tightness around his hands. “I wasn't scared or angry. I mean, I was afterwards but before that it was like I was just determined, and I ended up burning the kid.”

Bad turned around quickly, dropping the plate he was drying back into the sink. “You  _ burnt  _ a  _ kid _ ?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Sapnap realized what he confessed to. 

He backed up in his chair. “Ok, I know it sound bad...and I didn't mean to tell you-”

“You just were going to skip over that part?”

Sapnap cringed. He didn’t mean to say that either. “But he  _ was _ a criminal.”

It seemed like Bad was trying to figure out what to say while Sapnap slowly sunk in his seat. He slowly kneaded the dry towel that was in his hands, looking back out the window in front of him. When he turned around, he placed the towel on the dish rack and started stuttering for a few seconds, gesturing like he was talking with his hands even when the room fell completely silent. “WHAT WERE YOU DOING?”

Sapnap stuttered himself before answering. “A place got broke into, my friends and I decided we were close by so we stopped it.”

“Sapnap- “

“What? We stopped the robbery!” His elbows sat on the wooden table as he leaned forward. “I thought you would have been happy about that.”

Bad rubbed circles around his eyes before stepping towards the table. “Why didn't you call the police?”

Sapnap scoffed like it was obvious. “Cause I had it handled.”

“You burnt a child,” Bad reminded him.

“A criminal.”

“Sapnap.”

“What?”

He didn’t answer right away, instead biting his lower lip ever so slightly before sighing. “Heroes don't do that.”

Sapnap couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. Bad wasn’t going to get him with that anymore. He had made his mind up about heroes. Mostly. Or he thought he did in the moment. And he wasn’t eight anymore. “I'm not a hero.”

Again, Bad took a few seconds to think of a reply. He walked to the table and put his hands down onto it, leaning forward a slight bit “What are you?”

Taken by surprise, Sapnap scoffed and leaned away from his dad. “I'm Sapnap, I don't know!”

Bad sighed. “It seems like you always come home with these stories of chasing mystery and fighting crime, what are you doing?”

“I'm just in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess,” Sapnap shrugged, lying. 

“Sapnap.”

“Stop saying my name like that!”

Bad let his head fall for a few seconds before looking back. “Do you want to hide your powers or not?” Sapnap was about to answer, but Bad cut him off before he could get so much as a noise out. “Cause if you keep getting into these situations and you keep having these big emotions, they're going to come out. I support you hiding your powers and I'll support you if you use them proudly. But I won't support a criminal.”

Defending himself, Sapnap stood up. “I'm not a criminal!”

Bad pushed himself off the table, towering over Sapnap. At the moment he had to have just been 6 foot 7 or so, though he could have easily made himself taller. The house was built to support his normal height of 8 feet. “Are you a vigilante now?”

He gestured like it was the most ludicrous idea he had ever heard. “No! I'm nothing! I'm a guy who happens to have powers. My powers don't make me anything, I don't have to be anything.”

“That's fine, I just worry,” he said slowly. 

“Why?”

Bad scoffed. “Wh- You burnt yourself! And a kid! And Skeppy, and me, and you started a fire in my garden, and-”

Sapnap pressed his hands to his ears. He knew what he did when he was younger and less in control. He felt horrible about it. “Shut up! I didn't ask for these!”

“No one does, but you keep trying to deny they're a part of you and they keep coming out at the worst possible times.” Not being able to fully block out the sound of Bad’s voice, Sapnap put his hands on his head. “You hang out around criminals, you're sad half the time, you never talk to me and when you do you don't listen to me, you move around between houses like it's nothing- where do you even live, Sapnap? Who do you live with?”

“Dream and George,” he answered.

“Again?”

He threw his head back in frustration. “How old do I have to be to have you stop breathing down my back?” He started to walk toward the side door in the kitchen that led to Bad’s garden and a small hangout area. Bad reached for him before he could reach the door, holding onto his arm. 

“I asked you a- It’s not unreasonable to want to know where my son lives, and I like Dream and George, you know that. I've liked them since you've met them, I'm just- you keep moving out with them only to move back in months later, is something happening? Are you getting in fights?”

Sapnap pulled his arm out of Bad’s hand, but he didn’t walk away. “No! Can't I just try new things?”

“Of course you can, but I want you to be stable.”

He laughed cruelly. “You don't think I'm  _ stable _ ? I can take care of myself.”

Sapnap started to reach for the door again before Bad let out a sort of growling whine and put his hands on Sapnap’s shoulders, making him look at Bad. “I know you can, but I worry about you! I worry about you all the time! I worry and you never talk to me or let me in and I don't know what to do!” He let go of Sapnap again as he got louder. 

“I try  _ so _ hard to make up for being an overbearing parent, but I still worry, and I still want to be part of your life! I don't care that you aren't a hero, you don't have to follow in my footsteps or Skeppy's or be anything we were, but I still want to know that you're doing good things and being safe.”

The two stared at each other for a few seconds in silence before Sapnap looked to the ground, pressing his thumbs together. “I-” he started before shutting his mouth again. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking to the left. “I just-” When he let the sentence fall, he exhaled. “When I think- you know…” He looked at Bad finally, who’s facial expression was one of concern and caring. His own face fell almost as soon as he saw it, and he took a few steps towards Bad, who, upon realizing what Sapnap was doing, put his arms out. 

Though he didn’t hug back immediately, he let Bad put his arms around him and sunk deeper into his touch. He didn’t know when it happened or if they were tears of frustration or sadness, but a few had slipped down his face. When he did decide to hug back, it was loose at first, then, a few seconds later, as if his life depended on it. 

He didn’t remember the last time he had hugged Bad like this. They were just quick hello and goodbye hugs anymore. It made him feel like a kid again. Not that he was far from being one. He had to even remind himself of that sometimes. It felt like he had been an adult pretty early on, but maybe that happened at 16 years old when he decided he needed to block his dad out in order to have some time to himself. 

That year the hugs stopped. The long talks stopped. Sure, in the end both of them learned something, but there were better ways to go about it. Probably easier ways. Ways that wouldn’t hurt the both of them the way that Sapnap did. But they both knew each other had done the best they could with what they had. They loved each other. They were family. 

“What do you think about heroes?” Sapnap asked. It was muffled, and Sapnap’s voice was quiet on it’s own. 

Bad was slowly running his fingers through Sapnap’s hair. “Do you want to be one?”

_ No. Yes. No and yes.  _ He had decided a long time ago after hearing how Bad and Skeppy talked about their times as heroes that he didn’t want to be one, even if he had powers. He wanted to be a regular kid. He wanted them to be a regular family. As regular as they could be with a demon father and living with his shapeshifter friend. 

“I don't know,” was the answer he settled on. Would it have been better if he went with other supers at 12 to go train? He had the opportunity. Bad didn’t hate heroes. He didn’t love them either. He didn’t regret his time, but he would never go back. It was a complicated situation, and even though Bad reassured Sapnap so many times that he could do whatever he wanted, it was a complicated situation for him too. 

“Just make sure you're one for the right reasons,” Bad requested. Sapnap nodded against him. 

He had no idea what he was doing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SIKE, IT WAS SLIGHTLY SAD! YOU ALL HAVE BEEN DUPED!!  
> There's one other character building chapter that feels like an 'introduction' until I get into some really cool chapters that are basically all Tommy.   
> By the way, thank you so much for 16 comments on the last chapter and all the kudos! I love seeing them all and seeing that so many people have taken interest in this fic


	6. What's in a Hero (pt. Two)

Originally, he sat on his chair in a normal way. Feet on the ground, back resting against it. Somehow, before his sons came home, Phil managed to move himself horizontally on the wider chair, so his head was rested on one of the arm rests and his legs were hanging off the side. He  _ could  _ get up and walk a few feet to lay on the couch, but he did  _ not  _ spend as much as he did on that chair to  _ not  _ be able to lay in it. 

To combat glare from one of the windows, Phil put his arm over his eyes. It wasn’t late, but Wilbur had somehow convinced Phil to put them on an earlier patrol in a part of town they didn’t go to often. For the most part, it was ok. Tiring, but ok. The only real problem was the fire and some young adult trying and badly failing to steal a car. It was, however, farther from his house then Phil would have liked. 

It took longer to get to headquarters, but they didn’t have to travel to there daily, and they weren’t normally summoned at four in the fucking morning. He had to remember to thank Wilbur for the wonderful idea. He was about to doze off when the door opened. Phil moved his arm to his forehead, watching his sons stumble inside. 

“Oh my Gooooood, you two travel so slowly,” Phil groaned in a lighthearted manner. 

Technoblade let out a shaky  _ ‘Bruh’  _ as he and Wilbur collapsed on the couch. Wilbur sighed as he sunk into the cushions. “Not all of us have wings.”

Phil hummed, putting his arm over his eyes again. “You should.”

“I agree, father of mine,” he replied. He was laying horizontally on the couch, akin to Phil, while Techno was sitting normally on the other side. Wilbur’s legs rested on Techno’s. “I tried to get Techno to teleport us.”

“Doesn't work like that,” Techno responded tiredly.

Phil pretended to think about it for a second, knowing that Techno was right. He’d probably end up hurting himself and WIlbur if he attempted to take them both home from where they were. “Have you ever tried?”

Techno narrowed his eyes, looking at Phil. “Who's side are you on?” 

“Chaos.”

He could not argue with that. “Dad,” he called a few seconds later. 

“Hm?”

“You know Dream was lying to us, right?”

“Of course,” Phil confirmed. 

Techno opened his eyes to see that neither Phil nor Wilbur had moved. Neither of them seemed as concerned as he was. “Do you know the truth?”

“Well,” he started, clearing his throat. “I had a theory, before the Red Flash was mentioned. Now I don't know what to think.”

Wilbur let out a tiny  _ mmm  _ sound. “What was your theory? 

Phil rolled his arm to his forehead and opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling. “There was no break in, Ranboo had some friends over, they burnt something, it got out of their control and the shed burned down. Dream, George, and Sapnap tried to stop it and cover for them. And I was just going to let it go.” He shrugged the best he could while laying down. 

“Kids do stupid things,” he said as he rolled his head to look over to Techno and Wilbur. “You guys still do.”

Techno grinned while Wilbur just readjusted himself to get more comfortable. “Mostly Techno.”

“I'm literally talking about you.”

Wilbur grinned as well, but quickly hid it. “No you're not.”

“But they wouldn't let us into the apartment for a reason,” Phil continued, looking to Techno. He moved around to sit himself properly in the chair. “If the Red Flash was there...I mean, it's not like Dream pulled that description out of nowhere.”

Techno nodded in agreement before grinning. “I can't believe he's a kid.” 

Phil thought about. He couldn't necessarily say he was expecting it either, he will admit, but the more he looked back on their few interactions, the more it made sense. They hadn’t seen him often, and they hadn’t really communicated when they did see each other. It was only a few times when the Red Flash was making fun of them or giving off sarcastic remarks. “Can't you? He always sounded young.”

Techno shrugged. “Not that young. I don't know, I always assumed he was around 20, not 15.” 

“A child vigilante,” Phil commented in wonder.

“You don't see those often.”

He shook his head in agreement. “Nor child heroes. Those lines of work aren't right for children.” He wasn’t even sure if they were right for him. Maybe at one point, but now the trick was getting old. 

Phil had lived more years than he cared to tell. He had done this for more years than he cared to tell. He had thought, many years ago, before Techno and Wilbur, that he could rest. Unfortunately for him, his kids were also powered, and soon the super family was all anyone could talk about. He was practically dragged back into his job. 

He wondered how the Red Flash got into what he was doing. Someone as young as him had to have been forced into it somehow. People under 20 weren’t even officially allowed to go out and do hero work, spending most of their time in training and doing small community projects. How the hell did child vigilantes operate? 

Vigilantes were unorganized and unsupervised. Almost anyone could become one if they wanted to, but not many people took that up. The ones that were good at their jobs were wanted nuisances given the title of a vigilante. The unlucky ones were usually just labeled as criminals. The only big difference was skill. The other was intent. 

As far as he could tell, the Red Flash wasn’t harmful. A bit wild, sure. Did he make messes? Absolutely. Mistakes? Plenty. But they were never bad, or what Phil would call bad, and he seemed to care, having a big heart and a hero’s intention. Was he really as bad as people tried to make him out to be? 

“What's the face for?” Techno asked after a moment of silence. 

He sighed. “I just feel bad for him.”

“Why?” Wilbur asked, opening his eyes a tiny bit to look at Phil before deciding that the light hurt him too much. Phil grinned. 

Wilbur was the only one of the three who seemed to be genuinely upset by him. While Techno and Phil were irritated at times and very worn out by him, Wilbur had a one sided rivalry going on with him. For some reason, the kid knew how to push all of his buttons. Wilbur swore it was just because he was a danger and he wanted him behind bars, but anyone could tell that something about the Red Flash’s interactions with him ate him alive. 

Phil chuckled lightly. “He knows what he's doing. He's smart with it too.”

Even as his eyes were closed, Wilbur’s eyebrows furrowed. “I wouldn't say  _ smart _ .”

Phil laughed as Techno chimed in. “Well  _ you've _ never been able to catch him.”

“Neither have you,” Wilbur replied. 

“I enjoy a chase.”

“And you're just going to let him cause problems?” 

Techno shrugged. “I wouldn't say he's just causing problems.” 

Phil looked up to Techno’s eyes. “You admire him?” 

He thought about it. “I do, actually.” 

“He's a vigilante.” 

“Not one of the worst we've tracked down,” Phil defended. It was true. At least the Red Flash was more cautious and took in more of his surroundings. He didn’t cause problems  _ on purpose  _ like some other people they chased down would. And if he did, he did it for a good reason. Not just because he could. 

“At least he doesn't seem to just be power hungry,” Techno added. That was also true. Some self proclaimed vigilantes were just after the fame and glory of it all, and once they realized it wasn’t as luxurious as being a hero, they very quickly demoted themselves to just criminal activities. 

Phil agreed. “I don't think he's after power or fame at all. I think he just...likes it.” 

“My kind of guy,” Techno commented, mostly to get on his brother’s nerves, even if it was true. 

“You guys are insane. He's a bother,” complained Wilbur. 

Phil smiled. “He's a kid.”

Techno nodded. “A skilled kid.” 

Wilbur scoffed. “A potentially dangerous kid.”

“Oh, come on, Will.” Phil laughed at the seriousness in Wilbur’s voice. 

“He could have actually burned down the shed,” he suggested. 

Techno looked at him. “Why? It's not like Dream to tell us the truth.”

“I don't know. But I don't trust him.”

Techno chuckled under his breath. “I can't believe you have beef with a kid.”

“You and I are about to have beef,” Wilbur shot back. 

“You’re being real brave for someone who has his legs draped over me.” 

Wilbur gave him a dirty warning glance as Phil changed the subject. “Speaking of beef, what do you two want for dinner?”

“Ugh,” groaned Wilbur, who put his head back down and closed his eyes. “I'm too tired to think about food.”

Techno let out a small hum like he was thinking. “Sandwiches.” 

Phil hid a chuckle. “Just sandwiches?”

“You can never go wrong with sandwiches.” 

Wilbur scoffed a bit. “That's lame.” 

“I thought you were too tired to think about food,” Techno recalled. 

“Fine, sandwiches are ok,” grumbled Wilbur. However, once that was settled, nothing else was said, and everyone remained in their places. Only a few minutes later, Phil fell asleep, followed quickly by Wilbur. Techno stayed awake for a bit longer, with his eyes resting, sinking back into the couch and enjoying the silence, determined to stay awake the entire time. Despite his best efforts, within ten minutes, he, too, started to doze off, and the house was quiet for another hour. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the shortest one so far and probably the shortest one ever, but the good news is that the fun, longer chapters are coming up


End file.
